The lives of the Jews of Horažd’ovice In Memoriam WESTMINSTER SYNAGOGUE Our community’s visit to Horažďovice confirmed that no brutality or oppression can ever destroy the spirit of humanity. #e inhabitants of that little town not only showed us their respect and love for those who were so cruelly taken from their midst but also that no amount of fear placed into people’s minds and hearts whether it was through fascism or communism can destroy the spark of godly spirit implanted within us. #e preservation of the Horažďovice scroll and the scrolls from other Czech cities is a reminder of our duty to foster their memories both within the Jewish community and outside, to pass it on to our children and to future generations, forming a chain strong enough to always overcome. It also tells us how important it is to respect one another and not allow prejudice to rear its ugly head. #ere has to be tolerance and understanding and our role here, with our friends in Horažďovice and with the world at large, is to ensure that this never ever should happen again. We must be vigilant and never remain silent in the face of danger or where truth is at stake. We owe this duty to all those who have perished in the horrors of the Holocaust and also to those who today, in different parts of the World, suffer because they are seemingly different. Humanity is only one, just as there is One God whose watchword we say twice a day, Hear O Israel the Lord our God the Lord is One. God is all-embracing and all-creative and, as we are told, we were created in the Image of God. Rabbi !omas Salamon Each year Westminster Synagogue organises a Commemorative Service to remember the lives of those people who were brutally murdered simply because they were Jewish. In particular we mark the anniversary of those Jews from Horažďovice, who were forced to march together from the Old Cemetery at six in the morning through the town to the railway station where they were taken by train to Terezin and ultimately to their deaths. One of the few survivors from the town, Shlomo Fischl, came from Israel to attend our services here in 2010. He also came from Israel to Horažďovice in 2011 to meet a group from our synagogue who with him somberly retraced the footsteps of his family and friends on their fateful journey to the station. #e memory of that experience is indelibly etched into our consciousness. He and those who perished will always be remembered especially as we read from the scroll of Horažďovice. As a result of our trip to Horažďovice we have taken the initiative to enhance our relation- ship with the present community by creating a series of “stumbling stones” embedded in the ground indicating places of Jewish involvement. We undertake this mission to identify former Jewish homes, the synagogue, and businesses to remind the present inhabitants and visitors of the presence of past Jewish life. Alberta Strage Chair, Westminster Synagogue Scrolls Committee. Cover photo: window pane from the demolished synagogue 2 (Courtesy Horažd’ovice TOWN Museum) The Synagogue in Horažd’ovice synagogue exterior before demolition in 1980 (courtesy jewish museum in prague) horažd’ovice Chevra Kadisha cemetery ceremonial house, 1930 (Courtesy Horažd’ovice Municipal Museum) 3 Shlomo Fischl, Age 4 with Mother, Horažd’ovice c.1936 (courtesy Shlomo Fischl) letter to rabbi thomas salamon & westminster synagogue community 4 from shlomo fischl, horažd’ovice survivor, in czech, dated july 2010 Dear Rabbi Salamon and honoured Westminster community! I was deeply touched by your letter dated 14th of May 2010. Your letter was written in three languages, English, Czech and Hebrew. My English is not sufficiently good and therefore I suggest that we pursue our correspondence in either Czech or Hebrew. The reason for being so deeply touched was the fact that I found in this world that there are people of good-will who honour the memory of those who were either partially related to me, or were relatives or friends, whom I called “uncle” or “aunt” and around whom I always felt at home. Your letter caused me to look back into the past, to my younger years, when memories connected and brought me back until to that fatal day when I said good bye and waved toward the local train taking my dear ones to an unknown place. My uncle Adolf Popper, the husband of my late father’s sister had a deep and good Jewish education and so because from the middle of the thirties of the last century the community had no Rabbi, my uncle Adolf led prayers and read from the scroll. I helped my uncle in his preparations for the services and in finding the right Torah portion. Therefore I have an intimate knowledge of what I believe were seven scrolls, which were in the possession of the community. I deeply appreciate your activities, bringing back memories of those innocent victims of Nazism, particularly now when reminding is so very important, as many are trying to prove “scientifically” that the Shoah never happened and was just a Jewish invention. With reverence, and good wishes for all the very best,with regards from the Promised Land. Shlomo (Jaraslav) Fischl Ramat Gan 25th July 2010 Shlomo Fischl, Ramat Gan, Israel 2010 (courtesy Shlomo Fischl) Letter to Rabbi Thomas Salamon & Westminster Synagogue Community from Shlomo Fischl, Horažd’ovice Survivor, in Czech, dated July 2010 Translated Excerpts Courtesy Rabbi Thomas Salamon 5 From Horažd’ovice to Westminster The Journey of the Czech Scrolls On 28 May 1942, a letter was sent from Dr. Augustin Stein of the Jüdische Kultusgemeinde (Jewish Community) agency of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, directing all local Jewish authorities to send their cultural materials to the Central Jewish Museum in Prague. A detailed list of artefacts covered by the directive accompanied Dr. Stein’s letter. So began the journey of the Czech Torah scrolls, binders, breastplates and other Jewish cultural items. #e plan to save the religious objects was developed by Jewish leaders in Prague, as the deportation of Jews from these regions meant that synagogues and their contents were subject to looting and wilful damage. #e synagogue in Horažd’ovice (a town approximately 100 km southwest of Prague) served as a collection point. Items from the synagogue and the surrounding smaller communities were then forwarded on to the Central Jewish Museum, where they were stored for the remainder of the war. Some of the Scrolls were wrapped in Tallitot for the journey to Prague, and many bore signs of severe damage. After the war, Jewish communal life did not return to most of these communities. Today, no Jews live in Horažd’ovice. In all, nearly 80,000 Czech Jews perished. Workers receiving the cultural objects at the Central Jewish Museum (courtesy Jewish Museum in Prague) 6 In the early 1960s, representatives of the Czech state approached a leading dealer in antiquities, Eric Estorick, regarding the Scrolls collection, which by then was being stored in the synagogue building in Michle, a suburb of Prague. Together with a client of his, he arranged for a prominent scholar of Hebrew Studies, Professor Chimen Abramsky, to visit and assess the collection. Michle Synagogue near Prague, where scrolls were stored for a number of years following the war (Courtesy Jewish Museum in Prague) #e client was Ralph Yablon, a founding member of Westminster Synagogue. Mr. Yablon then arranged for the transfer of the collection to what was to become the Czech Memorial Scrolls Trust. In 1964, 1,564 scrolls arrived by lorry at Kent House, and the work of restoring as many of them as possible to a usable state began. Today, restored scrolls are loaned to Jewish communities throughout the world, whilst those damaged beyond repair are stored in the Czech Memorial Scrolls Museum on the third floor of Kent House. rescued scrolls after their arrival at kent house (courtesy czech memorial scrolls trust) 7 Kent House, Rutland Gardens, London SW7 1BX Telephone: 020 7584 3741 Email: [email protected] As we celebrate our annual Service, each one of which has strengthened our involvement with the town from which our Scroll originated, we continue to deepen our knowledge of the life and times of the Jewish people who once lived there. Much of the Memorial Scrolls Trust’s work is concerned with encouraging congregations to honour their Czech Scrolls. We ask them to hold an annual Service to commemorate the place of origin of the Scroll and to recall the names of those who were murdered. Who else is there to say Kaddish for them? The worst fate that can befall a victim is to be forgotten and, so often, the Torah Scroll is the only survivor of those once vibrant communities. The Trust hopes that all those who are guardians of Scrolls will be inspired to hold a Service such as this. It will help them to ensure that they gain increased knowledge and understanding of the significance of the precious legacy of their Czech Memorial Torah Scroll. Evelyn Friedlander Chair, Memorial Scrolls Trust ABOUT THE MEMORIAL SCROLLS TRUST 1,564 Torah Scrolls came to Westminster Synagogue in 1964 thanks to its founding rabbi, Harold Reinhart and through the generosity of Ralph Yablon. #e Memorial Scrolls Trust was promptly set up to care for the Scrolls, to assess their condition and to repair them as necessary. Requests to house a Scroll came from all over the world and the Trust distributed them on long-term loan to congregations and Museums across the globe.